The Heart of Torchwood
by CeeBoo
Summary: 'The Heart of Torchwood' is a title that should be given to a heroine who really deserves it. Dawn Harkness is Jack's daughter, and when her mother is arrested and sent to jail, she finds herself getting involved with Torchwood without wanting to, with a father she never knew she had, she slowly starts to change their ways for the better. Starts up after Gwen joins. Janto. Towen.


**A/N: **Had this idea in my head for a while now, since Gwen is probably the worst female character ever, I wanted to write a Torchwood story about what a real female character should be like. Kind of AU, and there's little attention focused on Gwen! Janto, Towen, and OC/OC… Maybe. Hope you guys enjoy!

**Summary**: 'The Heart of Torchwood' is a title should be given to a heroine who really deserves it. Dawn Harkness is Jack's daughter, and when she joins Torchwood, she starts to slowly change their ways for the better. Starts up after Gwen joins. Janto. Towen.

**The Heart of Torchwood**

Dawn Blanc let out a small sigh and ran a hand through her black bangs. This was so stupid. Her mother just got arrested for drug dealing, and now she was being sent off to live with her father, a man she hadn't met, she didn't even know he existed until a few days ago. She hadn't been told the whole story, but apparently her dad left her mom before Dawn was even born, and her father didn't even know she existed. That meant her mom lied to her for her entire life in telling her that her father was dead for a whole seventeen years… What a bitch. She was glad that the old bat was in jail.

As she stood awkwardly behind her social worker, she found herself playing with her fingers, something she always did when she was nervous. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel towards her father. Was she supposed to be angry at him for not ever trying to contact her? It wasn't entirely his fault since he didn't know about her existence, but she couldn't help but feel angry at him for not ever talking to her.

Dawn didn't know how she was supposed to act with him. She was going to meet him at any second now, and be whisked away to her new home. Her stomach was doing flip flops, she felt like she was going to vomit on her own new shoes.

Everything was just really confusing.

That's when a large black van pulled up in front of the building they were standing at. Dawn's stomach dropped to her knees and she directed her attention to the ground, trying to hide her face behind sunshine locks as her fingers gripped her suitcase more firmly. She didn't look up when she heard a car door open and slam, not even when she heard footsteps approaching. She was too shaky.

"Captain Jack Harkness," she heard a smooth male's voice speak up as the footsteps stopped in front of her, "Nice to meet you ma'am."

'Captain'? of what? Dawn wondered but still didn't look up.

"Likewise, Mr. Harkness, the name is Grace Miller," her social worker replied with the same cool and cut tone she used with everyone, "Well, here is Dawn. She's excited to be living with you now, Dawn, say hello to your biological father."

'_Please don't speak for me_,' Dawn thought to herself irritably and looked up, slowly raising her head as her eyes met his.

Wow, this was really her father? He looked so young, in mid late twenties if she could guess. He was taller than her, she only reached his chest. He wore a long military jacket, which was weird because that was more common in the fifties, she thinks, and he had this confident grin on his face. She could tell where she got her looks from now, her mother had blond hair and green eyes, Dawn probably inherited her blue eyes, black hair, and facial features from her father. Which was pretty common, but she couldn't help but openly stare at him.

"Dawn, don't be rude," the social worker scolded her when she was silent and staring at him for too long, "Say hello to your father."

"Oh! I'm sorry," she apologized meekly and extended a hand, "Um, nice to meet you, uh… Jack."

It just felt too awkward calling him dad.

"Dawn!" the social worker scolded her.

"It's okay, Ms. Miller," Jack shot the social worker a smile and took his daughter's offered hand, "When she's ready, I'm sure she'll warm up to me."

Dawn ducked her head, her cheeks burning a light pink as she released Jack's hand and bit her lower lip, playing with the hem of her shirt as Jack and the social worker started talking once again.

"Dawn," a hand on her shoulder jolted her out her thoughts, "Why don't you put your stuff in the car and I'll be there in a second? I have to sign some things and finish up some business with Ms. Miller," he gave a kind smile. She noticed that his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled, like hers did.

"R—right," Dawn murmured and slowly padded to the car. She popped the trunk and tossed her duffel bag in the back, before hoisting her suitcase in after it. She slowly walked around the car and hopped into the passenger seat, closing the door and leaning back in the seat.

She began to get a better look at the car, it seemed really high tech. There were a bunch of unrecognizable gadgets lying around, and even computer monitors on the back of the seats. She wondered what her father did for work, maybe he was a computer technician. She thought he worked for the government, special Ops is what her social worker told her.

She played some games on her phone until her father finally was done talking to her social worker. She puffed her cheeks out in a sigh and sat up, buckling herself up as her father slid into the driver's side. She played with her fingers in her lap as he started the car, and they began to drive off in silence.

Finding the silence stiffening, she tried to clear the awkwardness in the air, "So…" she began, catching his attention, "Um, what exactly do you do? I mean, I know you work for the government or whatever, but Ms. Miller said that you were special Ops?"

Jack thought about that for a moment, "It's hard to explain," he started carefully, stopping at a stoplight and sliding his hands down the steering wheel, "But you'll find out once we get there; but I catch aliens for a living," he said rather casually.

Dawn blanched and stared at him, "Aliens?"

"Yeah."

She gave him a blank look, "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine—"

"I'm serious."

"Aliens don't exist, except on other planets."

"So you do believe in aliens?"

"I believe in life on other planets."

"Good, glad I have a smart daughter."

Dawn flushed and crossed her arms across her chest, "Don't try and change the subject, you don't catch aliens."

Jack laughed, making his eyes crinkle at the edges once again, "Wanna bet on that?" he asked as the light turned green and they started driving again.

Dawn huffed, "Yes."

Jack laughed again, "You're as stubborn as your mother."

Dawn puffed out her cheeks in a childish pout and turned her head away, glaring out the window. She's been told that she was stubborn many times before "stubborn as a mule" is what her teachers and friends called her. She probably inherited her mother's bitchy personality as well…

"I'm nothing like her," she grumbled.

Silence ensued for a brief moment before he spoke up, "Your mother… How long was she doing that stuff for?"

Dawn looked at him, "Did she never do it when you two were dating or whatever?"

Jack shrugged, "Never. She was clean, she never smelt of it, as far as I knew," he looked at her, "She must've really let her go since we broke up."

Dawn bit her lower lip, "She was pregnant and alone, what do you expect?" as much as she didn't want to defend her drug peddling mother, she also didn't like Jack bad mouthing her in any sort of way, even if it wasn't really bad mouthing.

Jack sighed, "Dawn, listen," oh great, was she going to get a lecture from a dad she just met? "Your mother and I, things just didn't work out between us. We were arguing all the time and we both mutually decided that it would be best if we broke up. She moved away, and I never heard from her again. I had no idea that she was pregnant, I didn't even know you existed until they called me and told me my name was on the birth certificate."

Guess the answer was yes on that one.

Dawn played with her hands in her lap silently as she replied, "Yeah, I know, I get that," she rubbed her hands together and stuck them in-between her thighs, "Mom always told me that I didn't have a father, that he died before I was born. I never really had a father figure in my life, even though she kept having short-term boyfriends, but they never cared much about me."

Jack was silent, "Well, then I guess we both have to start getting used to each other," he stated as they turned a corner, "And, even though we've only known each other for fifteen minutes, I care about you, a lot."

Dawn flushed and looked out the windshield, not sure what to say so she didn't say anything.

Twenty minutes passed before they arrived at their destination. Jack pulled up to a curb and put the car in park, before he opened the door and stepped out, rushing to the other side to open the door for Dawn.

Dawn was going to quickly go and get her stuff, but Jack stopped her.

"I'll get my assistant to get those later," he says and offers an arm to her, "I'll show you your new home now."

* * *

"You're kidding me right?"

"Just trust me and step on it, right here, c'mon."

Dawn sighed and rubbed her temples. This was ridiculous. He was trying to get her to step on the curb, but Dawn wasn't having any of it. People were beginning to stare at her, like she was the crazy one.

After a few more minutes of arguing though, Dawn eventually gave up and stepped up next to him. He said that she got her mother's stubbornness, but the girl was sure that she also got it from her father. She grabbed unto his arm, as she was expected to, and waited for whatever was going to happen.

Suddenly, the sidewalk beneath her feet jerked downwards. Dawn let out a gasp and clung to her father, making him chuckle. She brushed it off, too in awe about what was happening right now. The sidewalk sank taking them downwards with them. She blinked her pale blue eyes as they sank even lower… And entered a… Very strange place.

It was huge, that was the only way she could describe it. They were underground, that much was obvious, and they were surrounded by stone walls. The girl could swear that there was a pterodactyl flying around, but she was sure that her eyes were just playing tricks on her.

As they lowered even closer to the ground, she noticed that there were others standing around, as if waiting for their return.

What kind of government crap is her father involved in?

Finally, the lift stopped, and they stepped off.

"You're late," a woman with black hair past her shoulders and green eyes greeted them, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, leave them alone Gwen," another male with very short hair scolded her and stepped forward as well.

An Asian woman was at her computer and was typing away, but she stopped and looked up upon their arrival.

Another male—that reminded Dawn of a teddy bear she had when she was younger—appeared from a back room of some sort. He gave her a smile when he saw her, and she flushed a bit, deciding that she already liked him.

"Paperwork took longer than I thought it would," Jack supplied before putting a hand on Dawn's back and gently guiding her forwards, "Team, this is Dawn, my daughter."

Everyone said their hellos to her and Dawn returned them meekly.

"Dawn, this is Owen Harper, he's out Doctor," Owen nodded at her as he was introduced, and Dawn returned it with a polite smile.

"That's Toshiko Sato, she specializes in computers and anything electronic."

The Asian woman stepped forward and gave her a handshake.

"That's Gwen Cooper," he gave her no special title.

Dawn nodded at her curtly.

"That's Ianto Jones," Dawn noticed that there was a certain softness to his tone when he introduced Ianto, something she would've recognized as adoration, though she might've just imagined it, "he's my assistant."

"Nice to meet you," the Welsh man greeted her, and shook her hand.

"And he looks great in a suit," Jack added.

"Again sir, that's harassment," Though Ianto didn't look all that disturbed by it.

_Ah, so that's how it is_, Dawn thought to herself and hid a smile, deciding that she already figured out the extent of their relationship.

"So, I've met your team now," the girl looked at Jack and pushed her hands into her pockets, "But I still don't believe that you catch aliens for a living."

The whole team chuckled, like she was making some sort of joke.

"Ianto, go get Dawn's stuff from the trunk of the van," he tossed him the keys, '"Bring it down to my room. I have a bed ready for you," he put an arm around his daughters shoulders and lead her through the hub, she topped to stare at almost everything they passed by, "I'm going to prove to you that I do catch aliens."

"Hmph," Dawn grumbled but allowed herself to be lead, "Where are we going?" she asked as they approached a door and he pushed a button, making it slide open for them.

"The cells."

"You can't hold people here," Dawn says, sounding very sure of herself, "It can't be legal."

"Not people, aliens."

Dawn groaned and rolled her eyes, stomping into the dark hall, but having to be led by her father. Jack chuckled at her exasperation.

Jack opened another few doors and lead her down more dark hallways before they finally reached where their destination was. There were cells lined against one side of the wall, but the entrances had glass, it was probably bullet proof. He took her hand and lead her forward, closer to the nearest cell.

Dawn screamed and jumped back at what leapt at her, but ended up crashing straight into the glass.

She didn't even know how to describe it, it had the body of a human, but it's face was mutated, it bared it's fangs at her, it's beady eyes watching her with malice as she stepped forward to take a better look. Biting her lower lip, her eyes were wide as she tried to get a better look at it.

"Now do you believe me?" Jack asked as Dawn and the weevil stared at each other.

"What the hell is that?" Dawn demanded

"It's a weevil," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest, "They mostly roam around in the sewers, but when they come to the surface, we catch them and deal with them."

Dawn decided she couldn't stand to look at it anymore and looked at her father instead, "Aliens?"

"Aliens."

"This is real."

"Yeah."

"Huh."

* * *

So, this was her life now.

Living in an underground hub with her father, being around all this alien business without actually being a part of it, keeping her distance from everything so she wouldn't be involved in anything dangerous, her father had said. But she knew that she would probably get involved down the line, even if she didn't want to.

This was her life now, in Torchwood, with her father.

Talk about a culture shock.


End file.
